fantasy – Page 49

Review of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn

SFFaudio Review

Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, 20th Anniversary Edition
By Timothy Zahn; Read by Marc Thompson
13 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2011
Themes: / Science Fiction / Fantasy / Star Wars / Revolution / Space Opera /

Listening to Star Wars: Heir to the Empire on unabridged audio was nostalgic for me. I read the novel in print when it came out almost 20 years ago. I liked it then, and I enjoyed this audiobook, too.

There have been many Star Wars audiobooks. Until a few years ago, the available titles were abridged, anywhere from 3 hours to 9 hours in length. One of the qualities of those short audiobooks that I liked is that they successfully incorporated the Star Wars sounds, and I LOVE the Star Wars soundscape. I expected this unabridged reading to leave those sounds behind, but I’m very happy to report that they are here. This audiobook opens with the John Williams opening score, and there are plenty of light sabers, droids, wookies, and blasters throughout. Awesome.

Listen to an excerpt: |HERE|

It’s a few years after the Battle of Endor (from Return of the Jedi), and the New Republic now has to deal with the fact that they’ve won. Many of the characters we know from the original film trilogy are here: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and her husband Han, Chewbacca, R2D2, C3PO, Lando Calrissian, etc. Making things difficult for our heroes is Grand Admiral Thrawn and an unstable Dark Jedi named Joruus C’Boath.

I was impressed with Marc Thompson’s skilled narration. He was able to evoke these well-known characters with his voice, from outright impression to a cadence change or other verbal tic. I always knew which character was speaking.

This novel came out well before the film versions of Episodes 1, 2, and 3, so there are blessedly no midi-chlorians here. If you like the original Star Wars films and have considered reading one of the novels, this audiobook is an excellent place to start. I enjoyed revisiting Lucas’ universe, and it’s an entertaining story.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of The Habitation of the Blessed by Catherynne M. Valente

SFFaudio Review

The Habitation of the Blessed
By Catherynne M. Valente, Read by Ralph Lister
11 hours 10 minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: November 2010
ISBN: 1441870245
Themes: / Fantasy / Creatures / Monks / Quest / Immortality /

Publisher description: This is the story of a place that never was: the kingdom of Prester John, the utopia described by an anonymous, twelfth-century document which captured the imagination of the medieval world and drove hundreds of lost souls to seek out its secrets, inspiring explorers, missionaries, and kings for centuries. But what if it were all true? What if there was such a place, and a poor, broken priest once stumbled past its borders, discovering, not a Christian paradise, but a country where everything is possible, immortality is easily had, and the Western world is nothing but a dim and distant dream? Brother Hiob of Luzerne, on missionary work in the Himalayan wilderness on the eve of the eighteenth century, discovers a village guarding a miraculous tree whose branches sprout books instead of fruit. These strange books chronicle the history of the kingdom of Prester John, and Hiob becomes obsessed with the tales they tell. The Habitation of the Blessed recounts the fragmented narratives found within these living volumes, revealing the life of a priest named John, and his rise to power in this country of impossible richness. John’s tale weaves together with the confessions of his wife Hagia, a blemmye — a headless creature who carried her face on her chest — as well as the tender, jeweled nursery stories of Imtithal, nanny to the royal family.

Full disclosure – I am an unrestrained, shameless fan of Catherynne M. Valente. She ranks among my top three favorite authors, Palimpsest being my favorite novel, and I have read practically everything she has written. The only exceptions are Labyrinth, her first novel which she has made available for free online, Deathless, and some of her short stories. Valente’s prose is beautiful, and her knowledge of mythology and the classics is apparent in every story. Some of her earlier works read more like poetry.

The Habitation of the Blessed is the first book in a trilogy called Dirge for Prester John. The next book will be out before the end of the year, and the third is set to be published in 2012. It is based on the medieval legend of Prester John, and Catherynne Valente has created a website called PresterJohnOnline where you can read more. Check out this video demonstrating the medieval legend as acted out by action figures (also created by Valente).

Of all of Valente’s works, this reminds me of The Orphan’s Tales, the way there are multiple stories that are loosely connected in an overarching narrative. But somehow, it is much more intricate, and I was drawn in by this tree of books that is encountered early on by Brother Hiob of Lucerne. The interweaving stories in the book come from this tree, but they may act more like fruit than paper.

“This tree bore neither apples nor plums, but books, where fruit should sprout. The bark of its great trunk shone the color of parchment; its leaves a glossy vibrant red, as if it had drunk up all the colors of the long plain through its roots. In clusters and alone, books of all shapes hung among the pointed leaves, their covers obscenely bright and shining, swollen as peaches, gold and green, and cerulean, their pages thick as though with juice, their silver ribbon marks fluttering in the spiced wind.”

My imagination was captured in that moment, and it only got better. The creatures in this book are bizarre and enchanting, and stretch the limitations of the reader alongside Brother Hiob. It is impossible not to start longing for the imaginary landscape of Pentexore, and I look forward to the future books in this world.

Ralph Lister also does a wonderful job with the audio, and the subtle differences in voices help the listener know where one is within the story.

Posted by Jenny Colvin

Review of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

SFFaudio Review

The Night Circus
By Erin Morgenstern; Read by Jim Dale
13 Hours 39 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2011
Themes: / Fantasy / Fairy Tale / Magic /

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians….” (from the publisher summary)

It isn’t often that I download a book as soon as it is released, but I’ve been hearing about The Night Circus for months. A co-worker tracked down an ARC before it even came out, and declared that she loved it and so would I. I believed her, but still thought I’d wait. The tipping point was hearing that Jim Dale was the reader.

I first encountered Jim Dale when I listened to the audiobooks for Harry Potter. Besides bringing the stories I already loved to life, I had the distinct impression that Jim Dale is the voice I’ve always heard in my head when I read a book that immerses me into another world. His nuance in character voicing and compelling emotion increases the reading experience one hundred fold. It was a no-brainer; I had to read this book.

The story bounces between different people who relate to the circus in some way, and moves at will between cities and years, just as the circus does. Eventually the relationship between the characters starts to be revealed, starting with the midnight banquets, one of my favorite moments in the book. Details weave together to describe the mysterious, magical place of the night circus that kept me so absorbed that I would make up reasons to keep listening… taking the long way home, going through the coffee drive-through, and taking on cleaning projects.

I have seen comparisons with Ray Bradbury and J.K. Rowling, but I keep thinking of Catherynne Valente, particularly the world she created for Palimpsest. This is a time to believe the hype. The Night Circus is magical.

Posted by Jenny Colvin

Review of The Warriors, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

SFFaudio Review

Warriors
Edited by George R. R. Martin and Garner Dozois
Read by Patrick Lawlor and Christina Traister
26 CDs – 31 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2011
Themes: / Fantasy / Historical / Mainstream / Warriors /

A review by Brian Murphy.

“People have been telling stories about warriors for as long as they have been telling stories. Since Homer first sang the wrath of Achilles and the ancient Sumerians set down their tales of Gilgamesh, warriors, soldiers, and fighters have fascinated us; they are a part of every culture, every literary tradition, every genre.”
–George R.R. Martin, Warriors

There are two ways to approach the George R.R. Martin-Gardner Dozois edited anthology Warriors, one which is guaranteed to induce disappointment. If you expect a collection of swords and sorcery stories or medieval-based historical fiction, the clatter of steel on shield and heroic feats of arms, you will be disappointed. But if you keep an open mind and read it for what it is — a group of disparate genre stories all loosely connected by a warrior theme — you’ll enjoy it, and maybe more.

To be fair, the packaging on the label (a sword blade and an old gothic style script) is slightly misleading, and I admit that I was initially disappointed by the collection, my expectations placed elsewhere. But that feeling faded quickly, and by the end I was very pleased with Warriors.

In Warriors you’ll find horror, a western, and a mystery, as well as historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction, from all ages of history including ancient Rome, the Viking Age, the medieval era, the world wars, the present, and the future. It’s hard to call this entirely a collection of genre fiction: How does one classify “The Girls from Avenger” by Carrie Vaughn, a moving story about a pilot from an all-female unit in WWII who investigates a mysterious death of a friend during a training accident? Historical fiction? Mainstream (is that a genre)? The same classification problem could be said of many other stories in here, like Peter Beagle’s “Dirae,” which follows the soul of a hospitalized woman that transcends its mortal coil by leaving her body and materializing as a kick-ass vigilante, allowing her to fight battles for the disadvantaged and the bullied.

But that’s really the entire point of Warriors. In the introduction, Martin states he was inspired to commission the anthology based on his experiences combing through the old drugstore wire spinner racks of his youth, in which you could science fiction sandwiched alongside westerns, or a bodice-ripping romance next to an Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter sword-and-planet novel.

There is nothing in Warriors that’s badly written, and in fact everything is well-done. It’s an antidote to those who think genre writing is shallow and formulaic; this collection is anything but. It’s also worth noting that every story in here is new, commissioned for the volume, so there’s no danger in reading something you’ve encountered before.

All that said, I have yet to encounter the anthology in which I liked every story. Unfortunately one of the weaker entries kicks off the volume. Even as a fan of Vikings, “The King of Norway” by Cecelia Holland did nothing for me. It features a bloody ship-to-ship engagement with no real investment in the characters involved, and the flow of battle is hard to follow, to boot. Warriors contains a couple other stories that I didn’t much care for: “The Custom of the Army” by Diana Gabaldon was too involved and seemed a thinly-veiled attempt to get readers interested in her Lord John novels. I don’t like when authors do this. “Defenders of the Frontier” was ambitious and well-done but lacked a decisive punch. War is often described as endless stretches of tedium followed by brief moments of terror. “Defenders’ explores this aspect of war, but unfortunately my overwhelming feeling upon finishing it was the same, sans terror.

Other stories are partial successes. “Out of the Dark” was shaping up as one of the most engaging and well-executed stories in the collection, but the ending (which was telegraphed enough so that it didn’t take me wholly by surprise) is too jarring, and renders the hard-fought sacrifices void. But even so I’d recommend it. I’m not so sure I could say the same for “Seven Years from Home” by Naomi Novik, which was well-done but a little to close to Avatar for me to completely enjoy.

The rest of Warriors was almost uniformly good, and some of the stories are absolute gems.

“The Pit” by James Rollins is written from the point of view of a domesticated dog stolen by a ruthless trainer of pit fighters, and it works. It’s a great little story that tugs at the heartstrings.

“The Eagle and the Rabbit” by Steven Saylor is another fine tale. The characterization carries the story as everyone from the sympathetic protagonist to the chief bad guy—a cruel Roman slave-driver—is memorably portrayed.

The best stories in my opinion were Joe Lansdale’s “Soldierin,” “My Name is Legion” by David Morrell, “The Scroll” by David Ball, and “The Mystery Knight” by George R.R. Martin. The only writer of this foursome with whom I had no previous acquaintance was Ball, and after reading “The Scroll” I’d certainly be interested in picking up more of his stuff. It’s about a French military engineer taken captive by the sultan of Morocco and forced to oversee the construction of a mighty city. The sultan is an absolute bastard who cruelly toys with the fates of his captives (the lucky are killed outright). At the outset of the story the sultan writes down the engineer’s fortune on a scroll, and every twist and turn in the tale seems fated by what has already been written. The execution is superb.

Morrell and Lansdale are similar writers: Both are highly competent, professional storytellers with the ability to spin compelling yarns with a very high batting average. They don’t disappoint here. “My Name is Legion” features a soldier who seeks to repent for his troubled past by entering the crucible known as the French Foreign Legion. It’s a great little story about discipline and honor and the strange fortunes of war. Lansdale is one of the best tale spinners of this or any era, as far as I’m concerned. His stuff is always gripping and visceral but suffused with humor, which certainly describes “Soldierin,” a story about an all-black unit of buffalo soldiers and a savage encounter with Apaches in the old west.

Warriors saves the best for last with “The Mystery Knight.” Martin’s story is set in his A Song of Ice and Fire world of Westeros, which is ostensibly fantasy but is deeply medieval. Heraldry, jousting, dark ages cuisine, and the knight-squire relationship are examined here in detail. The story includes a few too many characters to keep them all straight, particularly in an audio format (this is my one criticism of audio—I find it tedious to bookmark and/or flip back and forth, which is a requirement when reading a typical byzantine Martin story). But the quality of the writing is superb and stands out even in this collection of heavyweights.

Current or former Martin readers who are turned off by A) The sheer length of A Song of Ice and Fire, or B) Its unrelenting brutality (I’ve had issues with both, though I do plan to finish the series) should nevertheless enjoy “The Mystery Knight.” My first thought upon finishing it was that I wish that A Song of Ice and Fire was more like this: A little more light-hearted, with a sharper, tighter focus on the characters I care about. The hedge knight Dunk and his squire Egg are a memorable pair, and “The Mystery Knight” whet my appetite for the two previously published Dunk and Egg stories.

One final note on the audio version: Listening to Warriors was a freaking epic. It’s 26 discs and checks in at 31 hours, 13 minutes. It almost wore me down a few times. Warriors does feature two narrators — Patrick Lawlor, who narrates the stories with male protagonists, and Christina Traister, who reads those featuring women. This does help to break things up. It took a while for Lawlor to grow on me, as I found his voice much more suited to the lightheartedness of “The Mystery Knight” than some of the other, harder-edged stories. Traister was very good, particularly in her reading of “The Girls from Avenger” and the hard-edged horror/thriller “Clean Slate.”

Posted by Brian Murphy

CBS Radio Mystery Theater: The Creature From The Swamp

SFFaudio Online Audio

“Soon after ‘It‘ appeared in Unknown (the pulp mag competitor of the Weird Tales title which showcased Conan and Kull and Lovecraft), Ted Sturgeon’s name was a household word – at least if you lived in a house-hold where fantasy books lined creaking shelves. More Than Human, ‘Microcosmic God‘ and The Synthetic Man were still in the future, but it was all there – all the talent and the promise – lying there newborn and naked and writhing in a story called ‘It‘ which has never been topped in its field, and which has itself directly or in, directly spawned a virtual army,of gloopy-glop monsters which have infiltrated nearly every comics company which ever went into hock for a four-color printing press.”

-From an essay entitled A Somewhat Personal Pronouncement by Roy Thomas (found in Supernatural Thrillers #1 – December 1972)

The Creature From The Swamp

If there is a concise history of fictional wetland creatures with non-specific pronoun-noun names I’m not aware of it. Be it an IT, a MAN-THING or a SWAMP THING I’ve a a real HEAP of fascination for the merging (or emerging) of man-like-life from decay and vegetable matter.

Here’s a brief timeline of my own devising:

August 1940 – Street & Smith’s Unknown Fantasy Fiction -> It! by Theodore Sturgeon
(a composite being of mud, mold, decaying foliage surrounds a human skeleton and comes alive)

1942 – Hillman Periodicals -> The Heap
(the will of a WWI flying ace clings “to the smallest shred of life through sheer force of will” and arises from swamp muck in a rotted body intermingled with vegetation)

May 1971 – Marvel Comics -> Man-Thing
(a “slow-moving, empathic, humanoid” that had once been a man arises)

July 1971 – DC Comics -> Swamp Thing
(a plant elemental awakens)

December 1972 – Marvel Comics -> Supernatural Thrillers -> A comics adaptation of the original It!

March 1974 – CBS Radio Mystery Theater -> The Creature From The Swamp

I really enjoyed this production from CBS Radio Mystery Theater’s first season. It is obviously inspired by its predecessors but it also incorporates some earlier mythology to good, and mysterious effect.

Go now, follow Larry Drake, a man burned by the flames of the past, follow him into the swamp. See what fate befalls him. See what fate befalls the beautiful woman he rescues from a frightening creature that lays waiting within the marshy depths of the Devil’s Cauldron.

CBS Radio Mystery Theater – #0053 – The Creature From The Swamp
By Ian Martin; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 45 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: CBS
Broadcast: March 7, 1974
Provider: CBSRMT.com

Cast:
Robert Dryden
Jack Grimes
Leon Janney
Joan Loring

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Weird Circle

SFFaudio Online Audio

I’ve been sitting on this post for a while. The problem was that even though I’ve spent a considerable amount of time working on it, it has been slow going. I figured it will be years more before I finished it at that rate. If you’ve got some ideas about the authors I haven’t been able to discover please drop a comment. In the meantime here’s what I’ve got:

The Weird Circle was a 1940s half hour radio drama series that ran 78 episodes in syndication from 1943 to 1945 in the USA.

One story I suggest fans of SF check out is What Was It? by Fitz-James O’Brien, this 1859 story, starts off with all the proto-typical mumbo jumbo about seances and haunted houses and then takes a more Science Fictiony turn. It’s also, according to Wikipedia, one of the earliest modern stories about invisibility. The show’s producers primarily drew upon early and mid-19th century gothic fiction stories for their adaptations.

The final story in this series, The Black Parchment, seems something like a French version of The Monkey’s Paw.

Episodes:

The Fall Of The House Of Usher
Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: August 29, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

The House And The Brain
Based on the story by Edward Bulwer-Lytton; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: September 5, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

The Vendetta
Based on the novel by Honoré de Balzac; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: September 12, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
Based on a novel by Edgar Allan Poe; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: September 19, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

Declared Insane
Based on a story by Honoré de Balzac; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: September 26, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
Based on the story Interdiction by Honoré de Balzac

A Terribly Strange Bed
Based on the story by Wilkie Collins; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 3, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

What Was It?
Based on a story by Fitz-James O’Brien; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 10, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

The Knightsbridge Mystery
Based on the story by Charles Reade; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 17, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
First published in Life in 1882, later republished in Argosy (UK) Jul 1931.

The Horla
Based on the story by Guy de Maupassant; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 24, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

William Wilson
Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 31, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
First published in October 1839.

Passion In The Desert
Based on the story by Honoré de Balzac; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: November 7, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
Turned into a film.

Mateo Falcone
Based on a story by Prosper Mérimée; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: November 14, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1829.
Turned into an opera.

The Man Without A Country
Based on Edward Everett Hale; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: November 21, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
First published in Atlantic Monthly December 1863.

Dr. Manette’s Manuscript
Based on a story by Charles Dickens; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: November 28, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
Adapted from the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

The Great Plague
By Thomas Hood (?); Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 5, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
Adapted from the short story A Tale Of The Great Plague by Thomas Hood.

Expectations Of An Heir
Based on a story by Samuel Johnson; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 12, 1943
Provider: Archive.org
Adapted from The Lingering Expectation Of An Heir

The Hand
Based on a story by Guy de Maupassant (?); Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 19, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

Jane Eyre
Based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 26, 1943
Provider: Archive.org

The Murders In The Rue Morgue
Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 2, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Lifted Veil
Based on a novella by George Eliot; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 9, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
The Lifted Veil was first published in 1859.

The 4:15 Express
Based on the story by Amelia B. Edwards; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| -Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 16, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

A Terrible Night
Based on a story by Fitz James O’Brien; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| -Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 23, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Tell Tale Heart
Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| -Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 30, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

Niche Of Doom
Based on a story by Honoré de Balzac; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| -Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: February 6, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
Based on the story La Grande Breteche by Honoré de Balzac.

The Heart Of Ethan Brand
Based on a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| -Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: February 13, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
Based on the story Ethan Brand by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First published in .

Frankenstein
Based on the novel by Mary Shelley; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: February 20, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

Feast Of The Red Gauntlet
Based on a novel by Sir Walter Scott; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: February 27, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
Based on the novel Redgauntlet.

Murder Of The Little Pig
Based on a story by Émile Gaboriau; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: March 5, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

Specter Of Tappington
Based on the story by Richard Harris Barham; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: March 12, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1837. Lieutenant Charles Seaforth is back from India, and will stay in “the oak room” a notoriously haunted room in Tappington manor. But when a skeletal specter steals Seaforth’s pants in the night he’s forced to wear his tropical shorts to breakfast!

Strange Judgement
; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: March 19, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

Wuthering Heights
Based on the novel by Emily Brontë; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: March 26, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1847.

Curse Of The Mantle
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 2, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Cask Of Amontillado
Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe; Performed by a full cast
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 9, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

A Rope Of Hair
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 16, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

Falkland
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 23, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Trial For Murder
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 30, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Werewolf
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: May 7, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Old Nurse’s Story
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: May 14th, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Middle Toe Of The Right Foot
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: May 28, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Dream Woman
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: September 3, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Phantom Picture
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: September 10, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Ghost’s Touch
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: September 17, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Bell Tower
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: September 24, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

Evil Eye
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 1, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Mark Of The Plague
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 8, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Queer Client
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 15, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Burial Of Roger Melvin
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 22, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Fatal Love Potion
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: October 29, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

Mad Monkton
Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: November 5, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Returned
Based on a story by Neville Brand (?); Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: November 12, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Executioner
Based on the story by Honoré de Balzac; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: November 19, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1830.

Rappaccini’s Daughter
Based on the story by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: November 26, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1844.

The Wooden Ghost
Based on a story by Sheridan Le Fanu; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 3, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
Adapted from Schalken The Painter by Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1839.

The Last Days Of A Condemned Man
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 10, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1829.

The Warning
????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 17, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Doll
????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 24, 1944
Provider: Archive.org

The Diamond Lens
Based on the story by Fitz-James O’Brien; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: December 31, 1944
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1858 in The Atlantic Monthly.

The History Of Dr. John Faust
Based on a story by anonymous; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 7, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Based on a chapbook story Historia von D. Johann Fausten first published in 1587.

Duel Without Honor
????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 14, 1945
Provider: Archive.org

The Spectre Bride
Based on a story by William Harrison Ainsworth; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 21, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1822.

The Tapestry Horse
????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: January 28, 1945
Provider: Archive.org

The River Man
????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: February 4 1945
Provider: Archive.org

Ancient Mariner
Based on a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: February 11 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Based on The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. First published in 1798.

The Oblong Box
Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: February 18 1945
Provider: Archive.org

The Mysterious Bride
Based on a story by James Hogg; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: February 25, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1830.

The Thing In The Tunnel
Based on a story by Charles Dickens; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: March 4, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Based on The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens. Later adapted as an audio drama for Hall of Fantasy (1950), Suspense (1956), Nightfall (1982) and Seeing Ear Theatre (1998?). A spectral figure in a dark railway tunnel has a message

The Moonstone
Based on the novel by Wilkie Collins; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: March 11, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Based on the novel The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. First published in 1868.

The Pistol Shot
Based on a story by Alexander Pushkin (?); Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: March 18, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Based on the short story The Shot by Alexander Pushkin. First published in 1830.

The Possessive Dead
????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: March 25, 1945
Provider: Archive.org

The Goblet
Based on the story by Ludwig Tieck; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 1, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Translated from German into English in 1827. Donaldo is the governor of an Italian island. He chooses a woman of low birth as his bride to be and gives her a series of engagment gifts, a silver ring, a silver pendant, and a silver goblet. The problem is, Francesca, his intened, has falllen in love with the silversmith!

The Case Of Monsieur Valdemar
Based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 8, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Based on The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe. First published in 1845.

The Shadow
Based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 15, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Based on The Shadow. First published in 1847. Classified as a “fairy tale.” A man’s shadow becomes another person and tries to control his life.

Bride Of Death
By ????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 22, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
A beautiful woman is fated to marry a dead man.

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
Based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: April 29, 1945
Provider: Archive.org

The Red Hand
By ????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: May 6, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
A money hungry husband bent on murder chases his wife across France.

The Haunted Hotel
Based on a story by Wilkie Collins; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: May 13, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
First published in 1878. Set in Venice.

Markheim
Based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 25 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: May 20, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
This is a radical adaptation, set in a contemporary (to 1945) setting, and providing much of the presumed back-story (stuff that isn’t actually in the text of Stevenson’s original tale). First published in 1885 |ETEXT|.

The Black Parchment
By ????; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: MBS, NBC, ABC
Broadcast: May 27, 1945
Provider: Archive.org
Raphael Roland, a degenerate Parisian gambler intent on suicide, saves a drowning man in the Seine. In response he’s given a certain black parchment, written is Sanskrit, that grants wishes to the bearer. But, as an owner’s wishes are granted the parchment gets smaller and smaller and its owner gets older and older.

Posted by Jesse Willis